Josh's Deflection Drink

Josh clutches his drink tight in the meeting room's stifling air, shoving a magazine aside to plant a coaster beneath it as Stanley's questions slice into suicidal shadows and bloody hand secrets. Liquid sloshes with each defensive gesture, mirroring the home-brewed beverage he invokes from the meltdown night—poured in solitary ritual to cloak self-harm in banal routine. The prop endures Stanley's accusation, surface trembling as denial fractures, flashbacks erupting like suppressed steam.